Ratings and Reviews

The Best Version of Many of these Songs

Mar 21, 2016

Mitski is an incredibly talented artist, and her songs take on a new resonance in the live format.

The Best Version of Many of these Songs

Mar 21, 2016

DavidDePriest_

Mitski is an incredibly talented artist, and her songs take on a new resonance in the live format.

im not a good american girl... but i relate

Jun 1, 2016

DerekHolmes

dunno what it is about her, but within a mere stanza or 2, mitski throttles me back to a decade or so ago, high school years, and a dark em10 years of dormaotion i forgot i carried back then suddenly rises from 10 years of dormancy. They say olefactory memories are the strongest and most rralistic recollection of past experiences, but for me, its echoic memory brought about by auditory expressions of ms mitski miyawaki. I truly felt emotions that i forgot i was capable of, simply from watching her live on youtube and her videos on vevo. Can't shower her with enough praise. And when she performs "class of 2013" on audiotree.... good-goddamn does this girl have balls. I could never put myself out there like that, but then again, neither could any other artist ive seen other than mitski..... so yeah..... im pretty much in love.... twitterpated even

im not a good american girl... but i relate

Jun 1, 2016

DerekHolmes

dunno what it is about her, but within a mere stanza or 2, mitski throttles me back to a decade or so ago, high school years, and a dark em10 years of dormaotion i forgot i carried back then suddenly rises from 10 years of dormancy. They say olefactory memories are the strongest and most rralistic recollection of past experiences, but for me, its echoic memory brought about by auditory expressions of ms mitski miyawaki. I truly felt emotions that i forgot i was capable of, simply from watching her live on youtube and her videos on vevo. Can't shower her with enough praise. And when she performs "class of 2013" on audiotree.... good-goddamn does this girl have balls. I could never put myself out there like that, but then again, neither could any other artist ive seen other than mitski..... so yeah..... im pretty much in love.... twitterpated even

About Mitski

In 1990 the Miyawaki family was living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but her pregnant mother wanted the unborn Mitski to have a Japanese passport, so she flew back to Japan to give birth, and then promptly returned to central Africa. Traveling would become something of a theme for the young Mitski -- her family moved from one Army base to the next before finally settling in Turkey around the time she was 18. Having accrued all the credits she needed to complete school, Mitski graduated early and suddenly found herself in the position of being an 18-year-old with no idea what to do. A period of aimless mischief led to her developing a burgeoning interest in writing songs; her earliest completed song, "Bag of Bones," would form part of her first album.

After starting a film course at New York's Hunter College, she transferred to SUNY Purchase to study music instead. It was there that Mitski made her first two records, Lush and Retired from Sad, New Career in Business, her junior and senior school projects, respectively. The second album was an ambitious project that utilized a full 60-piece orchestra and garnered a fair degree of interest but left Mitski emotionally and physically drained. This exhaustion heavily influenced her third record, 2014's Bury Me at Makeout Creek -- a title sure to please the most committed fans of The Simpsons -- on the Double Double Whammy imprint. In stark contrast to the relentless professionalism of the previous work, Bury Me was mostly recorded in makeshift home studios with a close group of musician friends. The album was very successful and drew critical praise.

In late 2015, Mitski signed to the independent label Dead Oceans, with whom she released the hotly anticipated Puberty 2 in June 2016. The album's release was supported by a North American and European tour, which kicked off at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. Puberty 2 went on to receive widespread critical acclaim, placing in the Top 25 of year-end lists by publications such as Rolling Stone, SPIN, and Entertainment Weekly. It also found commercial success, landing on Billboard's alternative, rock, independent, and Heatseekers albums charts, while the single "Your Best American Girl" hit the streaming charts. ~ Simon Spreyer